Vegetable prices have hit the roof in Delhi. A sudden slump in the supply of vegetables to the city's wholesale markets has caused a sharp spurt in prices across the city, more so in retail.

A survey of the wholesale and retail markets has revealed that wholesale prices have gone up by 30 per cent to 50 per cent while retailers seem to be making the most of the monsoon disruption in supplies to raise prices arbitrarily by almost 100 per cent.

For instance, onions, which sold for Rs 18-20 a kg till last week, are selling for Rs 35 or more. Similarly, brinjal which would sell for Rs 20-25 a kg is now selling for Rs 50 or more.

The Delhi deluge: A child is rescued from the flooded Tibetan market area of the capital

At Asia's largest vegetable market in Azadpur, traders were trying to deal with the falling stock as supply lines have been thrown into disarray by the monsoon.

Balbir Singh, the pradhan of green vegetables association at Azadpur vegetable market said: "Three days ago, I had a stock of at least 100 bags of bitter gourd. Today, I don't have a single bag to sell. Vegetables like kidney vetch, brinjal and bottle gourd have virtually disappeared from the market. The supply of green vegetables has come down drastically. We can say that it has come down below 50 per cent. Obviously the demand hasn't changed."

The overflowing Yamuna has reached the wall of the Commonwealth Games village

Explaining further, Parvinder Singh Bhalla, a wholesale trader at Azadpur said: "It is very simple. Supply has come down and demand is the same. Prices are bound to go up."

Rajender Sharma, chairman of Azadpur Agricultural marketing produce committee, said that heavy rain and flood had washed away crops in the flood plains in NCR areas.

"Most of the green vegetables come from NCR areas and adjoining cities like Sonepat, Panipat, Karnal, Hapur and Baghpat. Vegetable fields have got submerged in rain and flood water has damaged crops," said Sharma.

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Sharma said that the supply of food items like onion, tomato and others which reach the city from other states has been affected due to rain. Trucks have got stranded mid-way, leading to a supply crunch.

"Onions mostly come from Maharashtra and Rajasthan and trucks are stuck midway because of the heavy rains," he added.

High water point: Haryana released 11 lakh cusecs of water in the Yamuna, adding to the river's rising water level

Flooded out: The swollen Yamuna has swept through Jamia Nagar tenements in East Delhi, forcing people out of their homes

Traders said that prices may rise further in coming days due to poor supply to the city.

"Prices are expected to rise in the short-term as there have been crop damages due to the sudden rains." said Pradipta Sahoo, business head, horticulture division, Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable.

Manipulation by middlemen is also responsible for the sudden spurt in prices in the last couple of days. Wholesale traders claimed that middlemen take advantage of the shortfall in supply due to bad weather to manipulate prices.

A comparison with the prevailing rates at the Azadpur wholesale vegetable market revealed that prices in the retail markets were around thrice of wholesale prices. Among the high-selling items, tomatoes have seen prices rise by more than 100 per cent this week. Tomatoes, which sold for about Rs 20 or less a kg a few days back, are now going for Rs 40- 50 a kg across the city. On Wednesday, tomatoes were selling at Rs 12-15 a kg at the wholesale market.

Kidney vetch was selling at the rate
of Rs 20-22 a kg in Azadpur market while in the retail market it was
selling at around Rs 50.

"In two days, prices have gone up sharply," said Parvinder Bhalla.
Retail traders revealed that kidnet vetch prices had gone up by almost
80-100 per cent.

Victims of the Yamuna: A man unlocks the door of his flooded house as neighbours look on

Traffic is blocked as the people rendered homeless by the overflowing Yamuna set up temporary tenements on the main road opposite Mayur Vihar phase I metro station

Trader Surinder Budhiraja conceded middlemen play a role in the price rise.

"The maximum price of kidney vetch could have been Rs 35-40 a kg. But, some middlemen take benefit of situations like bad weather or diesel price hike to make a killing," he added.

Another trader said that there is hardly any enforcement by the government to control prices of vegetables. "Officials never reach markets for surprise checks. There is no deterrence and retailers and middlemen are making undue profits," he added.

Yamuna rises to highest ever recorded mark

By Suhas Munshi in New Delhi

Yamuna rose to its highest-ever recorded level in the Capital on Wednesday, keeping government agencies busy throughout the day in evacuating people from low-lying areas.

The water level of the river rose to 207.12 metres, 2.29 metres above the danger mark. The situation is likely to get worse with the Yamuna's levels expected to rise further, officials of the flood control department said.

Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit meets the homeless near the bank of
Yamuna at tents put up by the government in Mayur Vihar Phase-I

Parts of Capital's residential areas located on the banks of the river such as Sonia Vihar, Burari, Usmanpur, Yamuna Bazar, Bhajanpura, Shastri Park, Mukherjee Nagar, Geeta Colony and Tibetian refugee colony were submerged in the rising tide of Yamuna.

Heavy evacuation work in these parts was started early on Wednesday and went on till late evening. Authorities have set up over 400 tents in four districts, including 240 in East, 100 in Southeast, 50 in Central and 30 in Northeast Delhi to accommodate the affected people.

Dengue scare in Capital

By Neetu Chandra in New Delhi

MAIL TODAY COMMENT

The different aspects oflife that a few days of rainhas ended up affectingexposes the precariousnessof our systems.

Theprices of vegetables havegone through the roof, andwhile some of it has to dowith damage to the crops,you can be sure that inabsence of proper regulation,retailers are cheatingconsumers.

There is also agenuine threat of vector-bornediseases loomingover the citizens.

As the Capital grapples with a flood-like situation, health experts are expecting a spurt in dengue cases. The water that has submerged the low-lying areas poses a big challenge for the health authorities in tackling the vector-borne disease and other water-borne infections.

"Dengue scare is certainly there because when the flood will recede, it will leave water pockets behind. Rain coupled with humidity will provide a conducive environment for mosquitoes to breed. Dengue larvae are ominously present in the city with the onset of rains. We have already issued around 30 challans and over 1,000 notices so far," said R.N. Singh, chief medical officer, NDMC.

Water-logging gives rise to the danger of serious waterborne infections. Thanks to the growing virus and bacteria in the monsoon season, the number of patients suffering from water-borne diseases such as typhoid, cholera, leptospirosis and hepatitis A are on the rise.

"In flood situations, contaminated and potable water get mixed, causing diseases such as diarrhoea, vomiting and cholera," Singh said.

The city has already witnessed more than 150 cases of cholera in the season and the situation will only worsen, doctors claimed.